Jeremy Hunt ‘ready’ to order Royal Commission to investigate NHS funding

The Sun can reveal that dozens of Conservative MPs livid with the state of the party have held meetings with the Health Secretary lobbying him to launch the ground-breaking study

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By Steve Hawkes, Deputy Political Editor

9th February 2018, 10:01 pm

Updated: 10th February 2018, 12:35 am

HEALTH Secretary Jeremy Hunt is ready to trigger a landmark cross-party Royal Commission into the future of the NHS, senior Tories claim.

The Sun can reveal that dozens of Conservative MPs livid with the state of the party have held meetings with the Health Secretary lobbying him to trigger a ground-breaking study of the NHS’ funding needs.

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Senior Tories have told the Sun that Jeremy Hunt is 'ready to act' after the disastrous winter for the health service

They believe it will win back voters in May’s council elections and move the party on from bitter Brexit infighting.

Theresa May has repeatedly refused to be drawn on the idea of a Royal Commission despite growing pressure and forecasts the NHS needs billions more to cope with an ageing society.

But senior Tories told the Sun that Jeremy Hunt was “ready to act” after the disastrous winter for the health service.

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Asked about the winter crisis Jeremy Hunt said: “Part of getting this right is taking a longer-term horizon, saying in 10 years’ time how many doctors are we going to need, how many nurses are we going to need.

“That’s something the NHS has never done before.

“But now maybe the time to bite the bullet and say that to make the NHS the best in the world we have to do some longer-term planning.”